Carrying case with freely hinged closure

ABSTRACT

A carrying case with a freely hinged closure or flap wherein the hinge member which connects the closure flap to the side wall of the carrying case is formed of an integrally formed strip of a substantially rigid material, preferably a plastic material such as polyethylene, having a longitudinally extending groove formed in the strip intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges to reduce the thickness of the material along said groove to provide a pair of segments or hinge leaves one on each side of the groove, with the groove forming the hinge or fold line and with one of the segments connected to the closure flap and the other segment connected to the side wall of the case, wherein the closure flaps may be opened at the open end of the bag so as not to interfere with the bag opening and provide a maximum open surface for access into the interior of the bag.

United States Patent [1 1' Doppelt m 3,744,601 1 July 10, 1973 1 CARRYING CASE WITH FREELY HINGED CLOSURE [76] Inventor: Mandel A. Dop'pelt, 721 8 Kedvale Avenue, Lincolnwood, 111.

22 Filed: May/17,1971

21 Appl. N0.: 143,898

[521 US. Cl...'. 190/48, 16/150, l6/DlG, l3,

7 ISO/1.6 [51] Int. Cl. A45c 3/00 [58] Field of Search 190/48, 54, 41 R;

150/16, 7; 220/31 S; 229/44 R; 1 6/128 R, 150, 157, DIG. 13; 281/23, 27, 29

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,169,615 2/1965 Stein 190/48 3,445,052 5/1969 Lewallen... 3,202,310 8/1965 Tibbets 12/ 1965 Schilling 3,019,486 2/1962 Stinson .1. 16/DlG. 13

FOREIGN PATENTS'OR APPLlCATIONS 981,805 *1/1965 Great Britain 16/150 Primary ExamiMr-Samuel B. Rothberg AssistantExaminer-Stephen Marcus Attorney-Max R. Kraus [5 7] I ABSTRACT 1 A carrying case with a freely hinged closure or flap wherein the hinge member which connects the closure flap to the side wall of the carrying, case is formed of an integrally formed strip of a substantially rigid material,

, preferably a plastic material such as polyethylene, having a longitudinally extending groove formed in the strip intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges to reduce the thickness of the material along said groove to provide a pair of segments or hinge leaves one on each side of the groove, with the groove forming the hinge or fold line and with one of the segments connected to the closure flap and the other segment connected to the side wall of the case, wherein the closure flaps may be opened at the open end of the bag so as not to interfere with the bag opening and provide a maximum open surface for access into the interior of the bag.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 8 CARRYING CASE WITH FREELY IIINGED CLOSURE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION by the continuous opening and closing of the flap and in due time'the hinge line will tear as the hinge line must support the weight of the bag and its contents. Another type of bag is one formed with a piano hinge of metal and the disadvantages of this type is that due a pair of spaced end walls 16, all of which are suitably attached or sewn, as is well-known in the art. The body of the case or bag may be formed of any suitable sheet material, such as multi-ply plastic material or multi-ply leather material, or leather-like material or leather, or the body may be formed of single ply sheet to the weight to, be supported the metal hinge tends to bend or distort and also the cost ofsuch a hinge is relatively expensive. Another objectionable feature is that which may be integrally and inexpensively formed of a plastic strip and provided witha longitudinally. extending groove intermediate the longitudinal edges of same which forms the hinge line, with said hinge member secured to the side wall and to the closure flap for forming a hinging connection therebetweeneThis construction achieves all of the advantages of the piano-type hinge without any of the disadvantages inherent therein. The structure of this invention can be produced much more economically'and provides a hinge line which is strong and is able to withstand the pivotal action of the opening and closing of the flap and the hinge means are in effect hidden from the exterior of the. bag. I

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS side surface of the closure flap.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the hinge segments sandwiched between plies forming the side wall and closure flap, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional viewshowing a modified hinge member.

The carrying case or luggage bag is known in the trade as a catalog case, although it will be understood that this invention is not limited specifically to that type of carrying case. The body of the carrying case is generally designated by the numeral 10 and comprises a pair a of spaced vertical sides or side walls 12, a bottom 14,

material. Whether formed of multiple sheets or single ply, the body of the bag is preferably substantially rigid. This is well known in the art and does not form a feature of this invention.

The upper end of the bag is formed to provide an open area bounded by the sides and end walls, however, the upper open end is closed by means of a pair of overlapping closure flaps l8 and 20, each of said flaps being hingedly connected tothe side walls 12 by means of the hinge members generally designated by the numeral 22. The hinge members form the subject matter of this invention and same will be subsequently described in detail. v

The closure flaps l8 and 20 may be formed of substantially the same material as the body of the bag and likewise are substantially rigid. The flap 18 which forms the underlying flap is preferably of a width slightly less than the width of the bag and and underlying flap is provided with a suitable handle 24 which is adapted to project through a slot 26 formed in the other or overlapping flap 20. The flap 18 is providedwith the customary locking hardware 28 which is engaged by latching members 30 on the overlapping flap 20 to lock the polyethylene material. Extending longitudinally and modified form of securing the hinge member to the out- 155 centrally of the strip is a groove or channel 32. A similar groove or channel 34 extends on the opposite face of the strip so that the channels 32 and 34 are alined but each facing in opposite directions. These channels or grooves reduce the thickness of the material and thereby form a hinge or fold line along said grooves. The grooves divide'the strip into a pair of segments or hinge leaves 36 and 38. The longitudinal grooves 32 and 34 permit the segments 36 and 38 to be hinged in opposite directions to provide an effective hinge means.

As best shown in FIG. 4, one of the segments, for example, segment 38 is positioned against the inside surface and adjacent the upper edge of the side wall 12 and is secured thereto by stitching same as at 40 to the side wall. The other segment 36 is then positioned against the inside surface and adjacent the outer edge of'the closure flap l8 and is secured thereto by stitch: ing same as at 42. Another hinge member 22 is secured in like manner to the opposite side 12 of the bag to hingedly secure the other closure flap thereto. The hinging or pivoting takes place .on the hinge line formed by the grooves 32 and 34.

As can best be seen in the modifications of FIGS. 5 and 6, the longitudinal edge 18 of the closure flap 18 adjacent the longitudinal groove is: spaced from the longitudinal groove, and the top longitudinal edge 12' of the'side wall is spaced from the longitudinal groove. The closure flaps can be folded outwardly laterally and assume a position in substantially a horizontal plane or at right angles to the vertical axis of the side walls 12, as shown in FIG. 1.

The hinge members 22 thus connected, as shown in FIG. 4, will not be visible from the outside of the bag except that portion which forms the groove 34 on the outside, and if the hinge member 22 is formed of a color similar to the rest of the bag the hinge line will blend with the rest of the bag and will not distinctly stand out. The manner of forming the longitudinal grooves 32 and 34 in the strip may be by any conventional means, or the strip may be formed by extrusion.

FIG. 5 shows the same hinge member 22 connected to the bag in a slightly different manner. The segment 38 of the hinge is connected to the inside surface of the side 12, whereas the other segment 36 is connected to the outside surface of the closure flap.

FIG. 6 shows the same hinge member 22 connected to the bag in a slightly different manner. In this embodiment the segment 38 of the hinge is sandwiched and secured between a pair of layers or plies of material forming the side wall of the bag and the segment 36 is similarly sandwiched between a pair of layers or plies of material forming the closure flap or, if desired, the hinge members may be secured to the outside surfaces of the side wall and the closure flap.

FIG. 7 shows a modified hinge member 22' in which a groove 32' is formed on one of the faces of the hing member to provide the hinging action.

The hinge members 22 formed in accordance with this invention provide a very sturdy hinge which can support the weight which might be applied in carrying the case with its contents. It will also permit the hinging or pivotal action of the closure flaps to be moved from their overlapping closure position shown in full lines in FIG. 1 to the open position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 where they extend laterally and horizontally of the open end of the bag so as not to interfere with the opening and provide a maximum open surface for access into the interior of the bag.

What is claimed is:

1. A carrying case comprising a body having spaced vertical side and end walls and a horizontal bottom all secured together and forming an open top, a closure flap for closing the open top when said closure flap is horizontally positioned, said closure flap being connected to said body by a hinging member which is secured to at least one of said side walls and to said closure flap, a carrying handle secured to said closure flap, said closure flap extending the length of the body, said hinging member comprising an integrally formed elongated strip of plastic material which is substantially rigid but which is capable of being longitudinally flexed by manual pressure, said elongated strip extending the entire length of said side wall and closure flap, said strip having a continuous longitudinally extending groove intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges of the strip to form a pair of hinge segments with the groove portion forming the hinge or fold line, said hinge segments having coplanar surfaces when integrally formed, said groove extending the length of the strip, said hinge segments being secured respectively to said side wall and to said horizontal closure flap so that the segment secured to the side wall extends vertically and the segment secured to the horizontal closure flap extends horizontally and perpendicular to the side wall when said closure flap is in its load carrying position when carried by the handle, both the. edge of the closure flap and the edge of the side wall adjacent the iongitudinal groove of the hinging member being spaced from the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal groove, said longitudinal groove forming the fold line of said hinge and extending adjacent the top edge of the vertical side wall and the outer edge of the horizontal closure flap and forming a continuous closure between said side wall and closure flap and providing the supporting strength for the load carry-ing position to support the carrying case when carried by the handle said hinging member permitting the closure flap to be hinged and positioned outwardly of the side wall of the case in its open position and when so positioned said closure flap will be retained in said outward position gitudinal groove which grooves are alined. 

1. A carrying case comprising a body having spaced vertical side and end walls and a horizontal bottom all secured together and forming an open top, a closure flap for closing the open top when said closure flap is horizontally positioned, said closure flap being connected to said body by a hinging member which is secured to at least one of said side walls and to said closure flap, a carrying handle secured to said closure flap, said closure flap extending the length of the body, said hinging member comprising an integrally formed elongated strip of plastic material which is substantially rigid but which is capable of being longitudinally flexed by manual pressure, said elongated strip extending the entire length of said side wall and closure flap, said strip having a continuous longitudinally extending groove intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges of the strip to form a pair of hinge segments with the groove portion forming the hinge or fold line, said hinge segments having coplanar surfaces when integrally formed, said groove extending the length of the strip, said hinge segments being secured respectively to said side wall and to said horizontal closure flap so that the segment secured to the side wall extends vertically and the segment secured to the horizontal closure flap extends horizontally and perpendicular to the side wall when said closure flap is in its load carrying position when carried by the handle, both the edge of the closure flap and the edge of the side wall adjacent the longitudinal groove of the hinging member being spaced from the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal groove, said longitudinal groove forming the fold line of said hinge and extending adjacent the top edge of the vertical side wall and the outer edge of the horizontal closure flap and forming a continuous closurE between said side wall and closure flap and providing the supporting strength for the load carrying position to support the carrying case when carried by the handle , said hinging member permitting the closure flap to be hinged and positioned outwardly of the side wall of the case in its open position and when so positioned said closure flap will be retained in said outward position and provide a full opening for the open end of the case.
 2. A luggage bag as set forth in claim 1 in which the opposite faces of the strip are each provided with a longitudinal groove which grooves are alined. 